THEIR STORIES

On June 11, 1982, five Israeli soldiers went missing in a battle with Syrian and Palestinian forces near the Lebanese village of Sultan Yaqub. Several years later, two of the captured soldiers were returned to Israel in prisoner exchanges with Syria and Achmed Jibril's PFLP-GC (Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command). Three soldiers - Zachary Baumel (born Nov 17, 1960), Yehuda Katz (born Dec 29, 1956), and Zvi Feldman (born July 18, 1959) - are still missing. Since the battle, there have been many conflicting reports regarding the whereabouts and condition of the missing men. Over the years, Palestinian and Syrian officials have made many references to information in their possession regarding the MIAs, but have been unwilling to cooperate in efforts to return the missing soldiers to their families. So, despite Israel's best efforts, Yehuda Katz and Tzvi Feldman, the children of Holocaust survivors, and Zachary Baumel, remain unaccounted for despite ongoing reports (including the 1988 Amnesty International Report and the 1993 Amnesty International December Update) indicating that some of the missing soldiers are still alive and are being held under Syrian control.

RON ARAD “Please do your best to get me out of here, because Lebanon is no place to be, and I really want to see you all -- no one should have to remain in captivity when there are other alternatives... Yom Kippur is approaching and I will be praying together with you.... Let’s hope that He will help the leaders . make the right choices. But you can also help.” (Ron Arad in a letter to his wife, Rosh Hashana 1987). On October 16, 1986 Arad was captured by Amal Shi’ite militia after bailing out of his crippled warplane after his F-4 Phantom plane warplane went down over Lebanon. Arad was taken captive by Amal a Lebanese Shi'lte militia group lead by Nabih Berri. In the year 1987, Arad's Family recieced several letters and photos confirming that he was alive and still an Amal's hands. He was directly held by Mustafa Dirani. in the year 1988 Dirani severed his ties with Amel and joined a new group called called the "Resistance of the Believers." Arad was held captive by Dirani's group until the beginning of 1989, when he was apparently handed over to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards in exchange for a large sum of money. Sources in Israel believe that Captain Ron Arad is still being held by this group.

On August 17, 1997, Guy Hever (born May 30, 1977), a soldier in the Israeli army, was last seen on the southern Golan Heights at the Katzabiya junction just one kilometer from the Syrian border on his way home. He was dressed in army fatigues and was carrying his weapon, key chain and international military identification papers. The area was searched thoroughly but no trace of him was found.

On June 25, 2006 in the course of an infiltration and attack by terrorists in the area of Kibbutz Kerem Shalom, near the Gaza Strip, an IDF officer and a soldier were killed, Cpl. Gilad Shalit, 20, of Hila was abducted, and four others were wounded. Since then, Gilad has been held by the Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

On May 24, 2005 Majdy Halabi, a Druze soldier from the village of Dalyat El Karmel was last seen around 17:00 in the afternoon. He was carrying a bag on his back, and was standing at a hitchhiking stop near the Hapoalim bank branch in his village, trying to return to an ordnance corps camp near the town of Tirat Ha-Carmel, south of Haifa, where he served. Majdy was 19 years old when he disappeared. On June 6, 2005, Majdy was declared an IDF missing soldier.

RETURNED

Sergeant Nachshon Mordechai Wachsman was an IDF soldier who was kidnapped and held hostage by Hamas for a period of 6 days. He was murdered during an attempted rescue operation. On March 27, 2009, a United States federal judge ruled that, by providing training to several of the Hamas members who kidnapped Wachman, Iran bore responsibility for his death and ordered the Iranian government to pay $25 million plus interest to his family At home on a leave, Wachman was instructed by the military to attend a one-day training course in northern Israel. He left Saturday night after the Sabbath and told his parents he would return Sunday night, October 9. He was last seen by a friend who reported that, after completing the training, Wachsman had been dropped off at the Bnai Atarot junction, a highly populated area in central Israel, where he could either catch a bus or hitchhike, a common practice by Israeli soldiers, to Jerusalem. Israeli intelligence learned that Wachsman entered a car with Hamas activists wearing kippot, a Bible and siddur on the dashboard, and Chassidic music playing. Mohammed Deif was self-reportedly the commander of the operation to abduct Wachsman. On Tuesday 11 October a videotape was broadcast showing Wachsman, with hands and feet bound, before a keffiyeh-covered militant, displaying the soldier's identity card. After the militant recited the hostage's home address and identity number, Wachsman spoke with the armed militant behind him: "The group from Hamas kidnapped me. They are demanding the release of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and another 200 from Israeli prison. If their demands are not met, they will execute me on Friday at 8 P.M." Nachshon's parents personally appealed to world leaders, including then Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, American President Bill Clinton, and Muslim religious leaders, who urged Hamas to release the soldier. On Thursday night, with 24 hours until the ultimatum, prayer vigils were held in many places. Over 100,000 people representing all religious, political, and social segments of the Israeli population gathered at the Western Wall. Responding to a request by Esther Wachsman, Nachshon’s mother, many women lit an extra Sabbath candle for her son. In the meantime, the Israeli military had captured the driver of the car which had picked up Wachsman. They learned from the informant that Wachsman was being held in a village called Bir Nabala, a location under Israeli control and only ten minutes away from his home in the Ramot neighborhood of Jerusalem. Prime Minister Rabin authorized a military rescue attempt. On Friday 14 October Yitzhak Rabin, Shimon Peres, and Yassar Arafat announced that they had won the Nobel Peace Prize. When asked his opinion on the "peace" that he had achieved in Oslo in light of Hamas' impending deadline, Peres responded that the peace processes involves "calculated risks." At 8:00 PM that night, at the hour of the ultimatum, the Wachsman family was informed that Nachshon had been murdered during a failed military rescue attempt. The three Palestinians who had been holding Wachsman hostage and an Israeli soldier were also killed in the crossfire.

On July 12, 2006, Hizbullah terrorists infiltrated into Israeli territory and attacked two IDF armored jeeps patrolling the border with Lebanon, killing three soldiers and kidnapping two: Eldad Regev, 26, of Kiryat Motzkin and Ehud (Udi) Goldwasser, 31, of Nahariya. The remains of Sgt.-Maj. Ehud Goldwasser and 1st Sgt. Eldad Regev, abducted in the attack on the IDF patrol jeep, were returned to Israel on July 16, 2008.